Here are some interesting notes from The Buckle’s earnings conference call last week. The Buckle sells some action sports brands at its 401 stores in 41 states.
Expanded online fulfillment center
The company recently completed a $5.5 million expansion of its online fulfillment center that doubled the size of its previous infrastructure.
Larger distribution center
The company is building a new distribution center to handle is growth and expects to start construction in its hometown of Nebraska in the fall.
2009 store growth
– 20 new stores
– 21 remodel
Affliction
CEO Dennis Nelson responded to a question about the company’s relationship with Affliction and any upcoming promotions:
“As far as Affliction with their new alignment with UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), we would expect likely to still have a couple of promotions a year and that we would not really see this affecting what they are doing. I mean they have a great brand and have played off their network with the fighters, but they’re very good product people and do a nice job of newness and so we’ve been very happy with their selection.”
Ultimate store count
Dennis Nelson: “We would estimate the best we can that there would be the potential for the mid-500 range, but that is a bit of a speculation, but we are in need of office space, storage space, other room just to run our business efficiently and continue to grow, so that’s the motive for the new DC.”
The Buckle’s back-to-school assortment
Dennis Nelson: “The vest has been working well in fashion type items and maybe a little bit more balanced mix of wovens, sweaters, and knits instead of as heavy in knits as we have been.”
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